Out-of-this-world coffeehouse

The Irish have their pubs, the Japanese their

izakayas

and we Filipinos have annointed the coffee shop as our default gathering place (in addition to the myriad grills we visit for a beer). From pre-first dates to heart-to-heart girl talks to informal meetings, cafés are our go-to place for a chat and then some.

Coffee culture is pronounced all over the world and each place, like its choice of caffeine-induced beverages, has certain practices and preferences. Sipping al fresco while people watching may suit the French, while grab and go seems to be the agenda for most New Yorkers.

In Japan and Korea, however, cafés are creative spaces where design plays a big role. It’s not just a place to down an espresso; each café takes on a design personality ranging from Muji minimalist to a whimsical pastel paradise.

Raw cement wall and mid-century furniture

This devotion to design is what draws a lot of patrons in — the chance to surround oneself with interesting stuff while having a cuppa just makes the coffee experience so much richer.

While cookie-cutter coffee chains still dominate, there are pockets of interesting places to enjoy that cup in Manila.

For coffee and design lovers, there’s a new addition to the scene that’s really worth visiting. Taking a cue from the café culture in Korea and mixing it with their love for fun, kitschy interiors, is Subspace Coffeehouse, a place that bills itself as offering “The Science of Coffee and The Seoul of Design.”

On The Radar spoke to Thor Balanon, co-owner of both Space Encounters and the newly-opened Subspace Coffeehouse, on their expansion, decor and what to order on your first visit.

ON THE RADAR: Was putting up a coffeehouse part of your long-term plan or was it a spontaneous thing?

Thor Balanon: My business partner Wilmer had a café in Timog 10 years ago called Café Kilimanjaro. We remember telling ourselves back then that maybe we can go back to the café business after a decade and here we are today. A lot of our customers at Space Encounters say they’d like to drink coffee in our store so it was a natural progression.

Also, our store has been attracting commercial clients so we thought it would be great to have a venue to showcase how our furniture and designs can be applied to a commercial space.

What’s the fascination with “space” in both your store and coffee shop?

Sweet Purple potato latte

Space and all it implies is just something that excites us. There’s the science fiction and space drama fandom on one end, and physical space and design possibilities on the other. It’s a strange intersection; that’s why we named our furniture store Space Encounters. It’s the geek mantra — Star Trek’s “To boldly go where no man has gone before” — applied to furniture and interior design. It’s a desire to explore spaces, which hopefully leads to out-of-this-world creations.

How out-of-this world is the café experience at Subspace?

That’s exactly what we are aiming for: a unique experience. The industrial-meets-mid-century modern interiors with a peppy dose of Seoul graffiti culture and K-Pop, is a mix of themes that can’t be seen or experienced in any other coffee shop. There’s no template to hold us back; everything is highly personalized.

Could you expound on the décor details incorporated in the café?

Subspace Coffeehouse is the “best of” everything we are currently passionate about. The interiors are mostly industrial — a mixture of the raw and polished, highlighted by cement finishing and pipes sticking out and intersecting.

Our main dining area has wishbone chairs tied to the pipes on the ceiling, our nod to anti-gravity forces in space. The sleek forms and the pops of color provide an interesting contrast to the stark walls.

Of course, the furniture is mid-century modern, which we sell at the store. And since the coffeehouse is partly Seoul-inspired, we also integrated some art and K-Pop posters into the mix. The doodles on the walls add a finishing touch that also serves as a small surprise in every corner.

Will the decor change depending on Space Encounter’s current collection?

To a certain extent, Subspace will reflect our store’s design point of view whenever we launch a new collection. This should create excitement for our clients since the interiors will be changing quite often.

Coffee shops are perfect for social gatherings. What kind of social activities do you have lined up?

Affogato

I’m a fan of the unpredictable. To mix things up a bit, we are planning to hold free screenings of Asian films — Korean, Thai, Japanese, local films — along with the occasional M-Net performances and K-dramas. The music is mostly K-Pop (Super Junior, Beast, Big Bang) and K-Indie (10cm, Dalmoon, Monni), as well as the occasional J-Pop, C-Pop and Thai Pop.

The lighthearted hooks surprisingly fit the coffeehouse vibe, and again, wonderfully clash with the Danish and the vintage.

Apart from the décor, what do you believe is the draw of Subspace Coffeehouse?

We are (deathly) serious about the quality of our coffee and we’ve created a few beverages that are unique to us. The Sweet Purple potato latte (P125) is a must try. It’s a staple in most local coffeehouses in Seoul, which we decided to bring to Manila.

The Peanut butter latte (P130) is also popular. Both have shots of espresso in them, and the mix of the bitter with the sweet and creamy is something we hope our clients will crave.

If you’re both a fan of coffee and sweets, try the Subspace coffee float (P160). We also have Affogato (P125), which is vanilla ice cream with a shot of espresso, and the Nebula coffee jelly (P125), a coffee lover’s dessert dream with coffee jelly, ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

Peanut butter latte

Subspace also offers homemade cupcakes, chocolates and cakes from various home bakers and possibly cold pastas and other savory dishes in the future.

Who do you imagine sitting and spending time here?

Anyone who appreciates a little storm brewing in their coffee. Anyone who is a fan of mid-century forms. Anyone who values personality over trend. We took a great risk using a few mid-century originals. We hope people also take care of the furniture because it is there for them to experience and enjoy.

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Subspace Coffeehouse is located at Unit 103, GF Grand Emerald Tower, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig. Open from 7:30 a.m. to 12 midnight.

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To know more go to http://www.facebook.com/subspace.coffee.